[J17] MEOW OR NEVER
Prompt #: J17
Title Meow or Never
Rating: G
Warnings: None!
Word Count: 2491
Summary: Kyungsoo manages to get himself cursed and ends up being thrown into an animal shelter after being mistaken as a stray cat.
A/N: I strayed just a teeny bit from your prompt, I hope you enjoy this anyway!
Kyungsoo hisses as he runs, darts in between parked cars as he attempts to make it to the alley, this can't be happening to him. All he wanted was to take a trip to his favorite coffee shop, but instead what he got was a run in with a nasty old woman who put an even nastier curse on him. One moment he was blinking in confusion at her, and then in the next he was a very small cat being chased by animal control. He has no idea where he's going to go if he manages to get away from these people, maybe if he can make it back to his own apartment he'll be able to figure out a way to change himself back. Kyungsoo knows he's got to be close to home by now, the signs and cars all look familiar and he knows this street! Kyungsoo lets out an excited noise when he spots his apartment complex, he just has to get across the street and inside the building. Kyungsoo darts into the street, ignoring the yells behind him, he's almost there, just a little bit more and he'll be free; he lets out a loud yowl when a net comes crashing over him and then he's fighting against the netting as he's lifted off the ground.
"It's okay, you're safe now little guy." Kyungsoo growls, spits at this person as he continues to struggle.
"Put him in the back, they already have a place for him at the shelter and he'll get looked over in the morning." Kyungsoo stops moving when he hears those words, why is he being taken to a shelter, he isn't a stray!
Kyungsoo grumbles as he's placed into a metal cage, but all these humans seem to hear from him are low kitten like mewls of distress, one of them even has the gall to run a finger between his furry ears and Kyungsoo hates how nice that feels. He just glowers and hunkers down in the back of the cage, eyes narrowed as he tries to avoid being flung from side to side when the vehicle begins to move. Kyungsoo's paws scrabble to find purchase on the bottom of the cage, instead he slides back and forth while yowling in distress, all the motion is starting to make his stomach churn. Finally, the car comes to a stop and a pair of hands are lifting him up, Kyungsoo blinks bleary eyes at his savior only to open his mouth and vomit anything that was left in his tiny stomach.
"Oh gross! Yifan he threw up on me!"
"He probably got carsick, you know how it is with strays," The human -- Yifan, says and Kyungsoo mewls pitifully as his stomach gives another uncomfortable lurch. "Take him inside and get him some food and water, he's probably starving."
Kyungsoo gives another soft mewl as he's taken inside a building, he doesn't want to be here and just wants to go back home. He's placed inside yet another cage, this one actually has a warm blanket and is lined with newspaper, Kyungsoo huffs at it all before pawing curiously at the blanket; he is kind of cold and very tired, maybe a little nap would be good for him. Maybe when he wakes up he'll have realized this was all some terrible dream and that he's actually not a cat, nor is he trapped inside of a cage in the cities largest animal shelter. Kyungsoo lets out a soft purr as he curls up on the blanket, it's so much softer and a lot warmer than it had looked, Kyungsoo is asleep in no time; beyond exhausted by all of his running earlier.
However when Kyungsoo opens his eyes next, it's to see a pair of light brown eyes gazing back at him, he blinks slowly before releasing a long yawn and stretching. The man on the other side of the cage smiles warmly at him, and carefully slips a finger in between the bars, Kyungsoo continues to watch him from his blanket; the tip of his tail flicking slowly as he reaches out one paw to bop at the intruding finger.
"Jongin, you can't put your hands inside of the cages, you could get bitten," Kyungsoo inches forward when Jongin removes his fingers, eyes trained on Jongin the entire time. "Oh he's cute, and small. Is he still a baby?"
Kyungsoo hisses at that, paw darting out between the bars with claws bared as he manages to nick the other male on the hand, he pulls his paw back in and blinks innocently at the pained shout. Kyungsoo is not a baby, he is a 23 year old man, just trapped in a cat's body for the time being. Jongin just glances back down into the cage, sliding his fingers back in to pet the top of his head softly, Kyungsoo's eyes fall shut as he leans further into the warm touch. Kyungsoo's entire body vibrates with each of Jongin's strokes against his ears, soft little noises spilling from his mouth as he gently presses his head further against his fingers.
"I wanna take him home, he looks so sad in here," Jongin says, smiling when Kyungsoo lets out a loud mewl when the petting stops. "He wants to go with me too! See, Chanyeol!"
"I don't think Yifan will let you take him, they just brought him in last night, plus he scratched me and you're allergic to cats," Chanyeol says, frowning down at Kyungsoo who just bares his teeth at him and hisses again. "He also seems to be really mean. Maybe he's just acting nice so you'll take him out and then he'll turn on you and scratch your eyes out in your sleep!"
Kyungsoo huffs at him, he's definitely more dignified than that, he would never attack someone in their sleep. If he were going to attack anyone, he would make sure it was at least a fair fight, and that the other person was very much awake during it. Kyungsoo does decide that Chanyeol would most likely be the first person he would go after if he did decide to get violent, but for now all Kyungsoo wants is for Jongin to pet him again and to maybe be let out of this damned cage.
"You're not really a mean kitten are you?" Jongin asks, and Kyungsoo would typically swat at anyone who refers to him as being small, but Jongin seems so sweet and instead he just purrs softly. "I'll be back, okay? I'm gonna go get Yifan and make him let you out of there. Hang in there little guy!"
Kyungsoo lets out a soft mewl when Jongin walks away, leaving him alone with Chanyeol, even going as far as trying to squeeze his tiny body out of the cage through the narrow bars to get to Jongin, it doesn't work and all Kyungsoo can do is to let out pitiful noises in hopes that Jongin returns and gets him out of there. Chanyeol crouches in front of his cage, peering inside curiously and Kyungsoo doesn't even hiss at him this time.
"You really like Jongin don't you?" Chanyeol asks, and Kyungsoo just flops onto his stomach in response.
It's not that he likes Jongin, it's more of the fact that Jongin is the only way Kyungsoo will get out of this cage and be taken to an actual home, at least from there he'll be able to figure out a way to get back to normal; somehow. Kyungsoo stares towards the closed door that Jongin had exited through, tail curled around his legs as he waits for the other man to return, Chanyeol is still talking; but that's not who Kyungsoo wants. Finally, after what seems like an eternity of waiting, Jongin returns with Yifan in tow. Kyungsoo perks up instantly, mewling and purring before Jongin even gets back to his cage, Yifan doesn't look as happy as Kyungsoo would have thought when he unlocks the cage for Jongin. Kyungsoo could easily jump down and run, this time he could definitely make it back to his apartment without getting captured, but Jongin is talking so softly and Kyungsoo decides he can escape later.
"Are you sure you want him?" Yifan asks, glancing down at where Kyungsoo is curled up in Jongin's arms. "He put up quite a fight last night when we were trying to get him, he ended up puking all over Sehun when we got back here."
Jongin hums, fingers skirting across Kyungsoo's spine and causing him to let out a loud purr. "He seems fine with me, you probably just terrified him. Look how small he is, he probably thought you were going to hurt him."
Kyungsoo gives a loud meow at that, sitting up until he can bump the top of his head against Jongin's jaw. "Okay, but you'll need to take him to the vet and stuff, we didn't get a chance since you came in and demanded to take him back with you."
"He's so cute, I didn't want anyone else to take him before I got the chance." Jongin protests, and Kyungsoo actually rolls his eyes as Jongin carries him out.
--
Kyungsoo sighs from his perch on the windowsill of Jongin's apartment, he's got a perfectly good cat bed on the floor, but he prefers looking out of the window when his master is away. Kyungsoo has been with Jongin for almost a month now, trying his best to adjust to his new life as a cat and feeling more and more miserable as the days go by, he misses his own things and his apartment; he wonders idly if anyone has even noticed his absence yet. Kyungsoo wishes more than anything he could go back to the life he had before, living with Jongin isn't bad, but he can't do any of the things he used to be able to; the thing he misses the most would be talking.
Well, that and better tasting food, cat food is the worst.
"Kitten, I'm home!" Kyungsoo would scoff if he could, Jongin never properly named him after bringing him home and he supposes that's a good thing since he couldn't exactly tell Jongin his real name. "You didn't eat today either?" Jongin sounds sad, and Kyungsoo just turns to peer at him over his shoulder before turning back to the window. "What's going on with you, are you getting sick?" Kyungsoo makes a soft sound in reply, eyes closing when Jongin's fingers move across his spine gently. "You're so skinny, I can feel all of your bones."
Kyungsoo turns around and jumps onto Jongin's shoulder, curling around his neck and pressing his cold nose into Jongin's cheek. Jongin just sighs and scratches beneath Kyungsoo's chin, then he moves to the couch and settles down on it. It's a nightly ritual by now, Jongin comes home from work and watches something and Kyungsoo will always make himself comfortable either in his lap or across the back of his neck, after the show ends Jongin will try to get Kyungsoo to eat before giving up and taking him to bed. Tonight seems a little different, Jongin is watching the news instead of a recent drama and Kyungsoo can't take his eyes off of the screen when his image pops up.
"I used to go to school with him, he was a really nice hyung, even though we never really spoke, but I liked him a lot" Jongin says softly, and Kyungsoo instantly hops off his shoulder and begins frantically pawing at the television, loud mewls falling from his mouth. "He went missing about a month ago and nobody has any clue what happened to him. It's really sad, I don't know why anyone would want to hurt him. Kitten, stop you're going to knock it off the stand."
Kyungsoo growls and swats at Jongin when he tries to move him away, he keeps pawing at the picture of himself on the screen, trying his best to tell Jongin that he's still alive and that he's right here. Jongin just sighs at him, turns off the television and picks him up carefully before walking him towards the bedroom. Kyungsoo growls again, claws coming out as he digs them into Jongin's wrist. Jongin screams and drops Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo takes the opportunity to dart back into the living room and jump onto the top of the television, he glares when Jongin walks back into the room; he feels a little bad when he sees the blood on his wrist.
"You're being really weird! It's time for bed." Jongin tells him, but when he reaches out Kyungsoo swats at him with a loud hiss. "Fine! I'll leave you alone. It's not like I wanted to cuddle with my cat or anything."
Kyungsoo sighs, and wonders if he'll ever become human again. He walks back to his windowsill and looks out at the stars, and meows quietly at the sky. Kyungsoo promises that if he can turn back, that he'll apologize to Jongin for scratching him, and maybe tell him how much he's enjoyed living with him. Kyungsoo hops off the windowsill and treks quietly into Jongin's room, he jumps up onto the bed and takes his usual place by Jongin's head on the pillows, he knows his master is asleep by now, but he still presses his nose against his temple before curling up to sleep.
"Kyungsoo-hyung! Oh my god!" Jongin is screaming first thing in the morning, and Kyungsoo just groans and rolls over to press his face further into the pillow. "Where have you been? How did you, get into my apartment? Hyung?"
Kyungsoo's eyes fly open and he looks at himself and he has to rub at his eyes a few times to make sure he is in fact human again. "Oh thank god. I thought I was going to be stuck as a cat for the rest of my life."
"Cat? Oh god where is my cat? Kitten!" Jongin calls, lifting the blankets in search of his cat.
Kyungsoo laughs at him. "I'm the cat, Jongin. Some weird old woman cursed me and I turned into that cat you were so attached to."
"So you heard.. all the embarrassing things I've ever said?" Jongin asks, and Kyungsoo nods.
"Uh, Jongin do you think I can borrow some clothes?" Kyungsoo bites back a laugh when Jongin trips over himself in his haste to get to his closet. "By the way. I like you too. And I really enjoy living with you."
"Hyung..." Jongin turns wide eyes on him and Kyungsoo just smiles.
He hopes he doesn't turn back into a cat overnight, but even if he does at least he knows he'll always have a home with Jongin. Even if Jongin feeds him the gross cat food.